Hello Back Roomers
I have to travel 60 miles each way to get to work and to do this, I bought a 94 Montego diesel Countryman (£500). I roughly average about 42 mpg and this costs me around £50 a week in fuel.
However, while the engine is still running like brand new (well running anyway!) the body is having trouble hanging onto it! Therefore, I am in the market for either a new car, or to do what I am currently doing, buying bangers!
I am now considering whether to spend the same amount of cash (£5-800) on another cheap and cheerful, or to splash out a couple of thousand and aim for something like a Mondeo diesel.
I am sure that other backroomers are in the same boat as me and would like to hear some opinions of what option they took?
I do need something that has good mpg.
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I might be in this boat soon. My own action plan is to get a Maestro turbo diesel for about £500 and then just run it into the ground (minimum maintenance policy - third party only etc). I reckon it will cost less to do this over 3 yrs than the fuel alone if I used my 820 Vitesse Sport every day.
I've seen a few really good condition Maestros and Montegos for this money. No-one wants them because of the zero image - but they're great workhorses and dirt cheap to run. Apparently Maestro TDs can better 60mpg on the motorway (not forgetting you could put 50% cooking oil in it!!). This method certainly gets my vote.
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You are certainly correct about the image thing!
I also run a 2.8 VR6, so travelling to and from work in that will
a) Need the petrol supplies of Kuwait!
b) Ruin a very nice car
I have been told by many a mechanic that the 2.0 diesel inside the montego is in fact a Perkins, hence the reson why they are so good. I don't quite get 60mpg, but I do run an estate and don't often travel at 70 mph! I get around 40-45mpg depending on traffic etc.
There are a lot of the Montego countryman around on the roads, so this must say something for them. I think that you are right, and I will stick with cheap and cheerful as I recently had a small rear ender (pardon me!) and if I was in my Golf, I would have been crying, but in the Montego, the tow bar stopped most of the damage and I didn't really care about the small amount of damage that did occur!
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Alternitively, if you want more comfort, you could plump for a xantia 1.9td. Don't let the suspension put you off, it's really not that bad to fix, if it does go wrong. For around £7-800 you can get a reasonable L or M reg diesel. I personally drive the 2l 16v petrol and that has a nice ride. The bodywork lasts better than the Maestro as well.
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Ring the biggest, most professional looking taxi firm near you and ask to speak to the person who looks after the company vehicles. (As opposed to the owner driver ones, most firms have both.)
Because of the hassle involved in preparing a car for its annual taxi test, (which specifies all the usual MoT items as well as interior and bodywork to be in "as-new" condition, ie no damage, rust, rips/tears, burns etc.) they will quite often have cars with 40-50,000 miles of life left in them but which would not see out 12 more months of taxi service.
I got my P-reg 405 TD estate (350,000m+) for £250 this way, SWMBO has done 10,000m in it since February and it still gives 50mpg+. We had a K-plate 180,000m Cavalier TD before that, paid £600 at 6yrs old because someone had slashed all the interior trim and seats with a knife, took a £30 set of seat covers to sort it out!
You might have to put up with a few rattles, maybe the odd sticking leccy window or tie-wraps holding the bumper on, but you won't get more car for less money.
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That sounds like a cracking idea. Have you any suggestions about what make / model I should be going for? I am not too fussed about image (as owning a Montego will prove), but I do need good mpg.
There are a couple of big fleets where I live in Nottingham, so I may give them a call. I must admit that I have been considering XM's @ Xantia's due to the comfy factor.
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BB,
It's not just mpg figures that are important - a couple of costly repairs, a new exhaust, tyres, cambelt etc. can all negate those 'savings'. Buy based on condition, go for a fullish MoT, and trust your senses when test driving the car.
Remember that just about everything on bigger cars costs more - and that insurance groups don't make any allowance for age (although Road Traffic Act cover can lower premiums significantly)!
Suggestions:
Peugeot 405 diesel - a taxi favourite
Mk 1 Nissan Primera - not a personal choice, but taxis again.....
Rover 418TD - seriously uncool, but who cares?
Citroen XM 2.1TD - ignore previous advice and keep a rabbit's foot handy :-)
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You can purchase the old shape Passat Saloons for b?**^r all. Most of the key parts of the body are galvanised so rust does not seem to be a problem. Interiors stand the test of time as well. The mechanics of the older ones (F - N/) reg) are very sturdy and if things do break - easy to fix. It does not have the same clutch cable problem of the older golfs, its hydraulic.
My 1.6TD did 48mpg - 700 miles + to a tank!
There are a lot of adverse threads running about VW's, but the older ones appear better.
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Anybody remember the old Sunderland built Nissan Bluebird?I was looking around one that was dumped at the side of the road today,'90 G reg and just about rust free,and i well remember them accumalating interstellar mileages,and being just about indestructible if you could find one that would give cheap motoring.
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You want to know which cars are cheap to buy, cheap to run and rarely break down? Just look at what our asian friends drive...
Bluebird is a great idea, my old G reg is still going, the guy I sold it to 3 years ago has just taken it round 400,000m and was complaining to me last week because he's just had to fit a new battery!
Anything oriental in origin or manufacture seems to be acceptable, around here there are loads of toyota carinas and carina e's, nissan bluebirds and primeras, honda civics and accords. You never see them broken down at the side of the road like you do cavaliers, escorts and so on.
Insurance groups are fairly high on Hondas and the like, but IIRC Montegos were all group 10 and above too?
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You are correct Dave, the insurance group on my Montego is group 11. Never quite understood the reason why it was so high, its not as if it is a powerful, highly desirable, expensive to fix if shunted vehicle.
Did they manufacture a diesel unit for the bluebird? As you rightly say, you never see them blocking up the hard shoulder! I was also involved in the manufacture of Honda Accords down at Swindon and in my opinion, they are a extremely well put together car.
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Does it have to be a car, i.e. would a small van do? Anything French should be comfortable, e.g. the Citroen Berlingo, or even the Visa-based C15 (which I think was available with a small side-window), and most have a good diesel* option.
*Good diesel? What am I saying!
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Anything that will get me from A to B is what I am after. It may be worth me looking at vans, but I am a bit sceptical about purchasing one because of its history of carrying heavy objects and the damage that could be done to the suspension, but I will keep it in mind when giving them the once over.
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